IMPACT THEME: Housing & Homelessness; Health, Wellbeing & Social Care

WHAT THEY DO: Real Lettings is a social enterprise run by homelessness charity St Mungo’s in partnership with us. Three property investment funds have so far been set up with the same social purpose: to help people at risk of homelessness to become more independent, linking stable housing to positive development in other parts of their lives.

The three Funds are:

Real Lettings Property Fund (RLPF1) – London-focused, and the pioneer fund for this initiative. It is now fully invested and in its fifth year of operations in 2017/18. National Homelessness Property Fund (NHPF) – Launched in late 2015 to take the initiative to other cities around the UK, it so far operates in Bristol, Milton Keynes and Oxford. It is in its second full year of operation, and continues to raise investment, acquire its portfolio and is looking to expand to other cities around the UK. Real Lettings Property Fund2 (RLPF2) – Launched in early 2017, in order to continue the initiative in London. Although money was being used to purchase homes last year, this is the first full year of operations and it also continues to raise investment and acquire its portfolio.

YEAR FOUNDED: 2005

INVESTMENT AMOUNT: £45,000,000

INVESTMENT SOURCE: Real Lettings Property Fund 1 & 2; National Homelessness Property Fund

INVESTMENT PURPOSE: Acquisition of 1 and 2 bed properties, to house homeless individuals and families

QUOTE: Susan Fallis, Director of Real Lettings, said: “Reaching this level of investment shows that the Real Lettings Property Fund model of social investment works. Since the Fund started we have been able to help more people escape homelessness by providing a secure tenancy and support from our social lettings agency. As a result, a significant number of families have been prevented from spending long periods of time in unsuitable temporary or bed and breakfast accommodation or having to move outside London away from their support networks.”

DEAL STRUCTURE: 7 year secured loan from the Resonance Property Funds (6% total cost p.a.)

Our pioneering impact investment fund, the Real Lettings Property Fund, attracted nearly £60m of investment at its final close early in 2015. It is already proving that it can deliver both financial returns and focused social impact in the area of London homelessness.

The Fund sources one and two bedroom properties, refurbishes them and leases them to homelessness charity St Mungo’s Broadway via its Real Lettings team. Real Lettings then lets them at affordable rates to families and individuals who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless, and who would otherwise struggle to access the private rented sector.

The latest social impact report for year 2 shows a dramatic rise in the number of tenants housed from 36 to 233 over the financial year to 31 March 2015. The expectation is that this will rise to well over 500 individuals by March 2016 when the Fund will be fully deployed and Resonance will have handed over all the properties.

Importantly, the data also shows that 98% of tenancies are being sustained for more than 6 months and 87% of tenants say that their property has had a positive impact on their support networks and relationships. These are early indicators that tenants are successfully establishing stable tenancies – a key first step. The report also looks at early data for longer-term measures, to track progress towards tenants gaining more options in the private rented sector, progressing towards work, and developing resilience against homelessness.

Tenancy sustainment as at 31.03.2015; other data based on sample of 107 responses from tenancy reviews, with impact on networks and relationships measured at or beyond 6 months in tenancy.

The success of this Fund has led us to roll out the model to a National Homelessness Property Fund that will target other cities around the country.